


All Creatures Great and Small

by Miss_Von_Cheese, nausicaa82



Series: Pippa and Steve [4]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Accidental Erotic Asphyxiation, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Anal Sex, Angst, Bubble Bath, Bullying, Domestic, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Marriage Proposal, Moving In Together, Oral Sex, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Science Bros, Street Fight, Trans Character, Trans Female Character, Transphobia, Whump, Workplace, Workplace Sex, super science
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-13
Updated: 2013-10-14
Packaged: 2017-12-29 07:46:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1002811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Von_Cheese/pseuds/Miss_Von_Cheese, https://archiveofourown.org/users/nausicaa82/pseuds/nausicaa82
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pippa and Steve go on their first mission just the two of them. When it goes bad, the consequences of their actions will alter their relationship forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The 'soap opera' continues! This is the fourth part in our series, and as such makes lots of references to the previous installments of [Pippa and Steve's story](http://archiveofheourown.org/series/47198). I don't think reading the previous stories is necessary, but I would recommend it for clarity.

Steve couldn’t help grinning as he checked over his gear one last time, getting his head in the game. In less than a half hour, he and Pippa would be taking a plane to Argentina, investigating a Hydra base that had picked up activity in the past few weeks.

While the timing wasn’t great, they were less than a week out from moving into their new apartment, it was going to be the first mission that was just the two of them. Basically a day trip, it was completely stealth— get in, get the information, get out. It was worth the lost day of packing as long as they were together and he could keep her safe.

He holstered his gun, tightened the straps of his finger-less leather gloves, and zipped up his pack. Suddenly, she was in front of him, and he softly gasped seeing her not in her usual business attire, but instead her body-hugging tactical suit.

Pippa was a bit intimidated to wear for the first time a suit of this size, but she had lost some weight, and she couldn’t afford to go run in the jungle in too large of pants. She secured her GPS on her belt, checked the security of the two custom guns recently developed by S.H.I.E.L.D. and gave Steve an admiring look.

"Oh, that’s my man!" she whispered teasingly as she ran her nails on his stomach. Adrenaline already running in her veins, she kissed him passionately. When the pilot cleared his throat to remind them of their duty she only shrugged. "Don’t you have a plane to prep?"

Pippa was almost bouncing when they climbed in the back of the small plane. They were separated from the pilot by a thick wall, their only company being their parachutes, so she straddled Steve’s legs as soon as he sat on a bench. 

“Hazardous missions and my Steve,” she purred. “My favorite things in the world! I am so excited.”

"You make it sound like you rank hazardous missions above me," he teased as he rubbed his hands over her hips. “Am I not thrilling enough for you anymore?" he smiled and nipped at her earlobe and jaw, eliciting a high squeal and giggle from her.

"You are above hazardous missions," Pippa pouted. "But for once I can have both, and I plan on enjoying every second of it."

“Every second? What am I going to do with you and all your excitement for the next six hours?" 

“You’d better keep me busy, or I’ll have to review my Spanish lessons and I’ll be bored,” she whispered in a sultry voice. “ _Te quiero… quiero follar contigo… damelo bien duro…_ ” With a chuckle she lowered her hips to grind down against Steve and placed her strong hand on his mouth to muffle his gasp.

Reflexively, he arched up to met her movement and his grip tightened. His pupils dilated at the friction; his perfectly tailored suit starting too feel too small. He kissed her palm a few times and then licked broad swipes until it tickled her too much and she pulled away her hand.

"Who’s been teaching you to talk like that?" He gave a light spank and kissed her before she could reply. His hands moved to undo her belt. Their kiss parted as the belt slid to the floor. “It’s ‘ _dámelo_.’”

"Oh, is it? Maybe I do need some review time then," Pippa chuckled, even more turned on by the hit of his hand on her butt. She leaned backwards until her hands touched the floor and lowered herself, her legs still wrapped around Steve’s waist to pull him to the ground, on top of her.

Motioning towards the cockpit with his head, Steve asked low, “Do ya think he’ll hear us?”

As she moved her top up to reveal all she could of her pale flat stomach she lied, “He won’t catch us, pilots don’t need a very good hearing.” She quickly removed her guns, checked her earpiece-- she was willing to risk the pilot’s indiscretion, but if Stark’s technology ever recorded them, he would never leave them alone-- and cupped Steve’s crotch in her hand.

"We’ll have to be quick and silent," she teased, knowing it was precisely all that they didn’t do at home. It seemed like they had spent the last few weeks making up for a lifetime of not having each other. Steve didn’t even wear a shirt anymore at home unless he was cooking; Pippa was rarely in anything more than lingerie and a silk robe. It was miraculous that they had kept themselves together at work, spending lunches and meetings together without touching only to get home and devour each other.

"Not sure that’s gonna work. You may have me trained too well; I can’t even think about coming anymore without hearing your moans. Not sure you could be quiet." 

"I can be silent, that’s my job!" Pippa whispered indignantly, but not sure she really could be. If at first she used to be loud just to guide him as to what she liked, it had very quickly become a habit to express herself and be heard.

He leaned back on his heels and removed his belt, his eyes hungrily surveying her, and tried to decide how they would be able to do this with their suits on. He leaned back down, bracing himself just above her face so their lips were barely touching.

"May I take you from behind, Sweetheart?" She tried not to giggle at his words but some of his expressions were priceless.

"How can you be so cute when you say such dirty things?" For three seconds her mind raced, searching for something, anything that could be of use. Steve was just like his reputation promised, and Pippa didn’t need to get sore before such a mission. She mentally checked every item in her pockets: Anti-laser spray? No. Electronic devices? No. In a hurry she grabbed a small tube of sunscreen.

"This should do the trick," she assured before rolling on her stomach, giving him a glance that meant it was no time to be a gentleman.

"Oh, Pippa, you know Tony calls me a boy scout for a reason." He reached over to his pack and fished out a bottle of lubricant. With a swift motion he rolled back the pants of her suit and growled when he discovered she wasn’t wearing panties.

Pippa bit her lower lip not to laugh. “Boy scout, uh? Let’s judge your level in… aaoh…” Her voice caught in her throat when she felt his cold fingers. With time her body became more and more pliant; since their shy and awkward first time, things had changed, she was now always easily ready for him. She rolled her hips in rhythm with his fingers, whispered orders he wouldn’t follow yet, eager for more.

When he felt like she simply would not patiently wait any longer, he unzipped his pants and pushed down the fabric to his thighs. He slicked his cock and then pushed as deep as he could into her, draping his body over hers. Kissing the back of her neck he whined but didn’t move.

"How is it that you feel so damn good?"

Pippa bit her fist to contain a loud moan of pleasure and frustration. She felt stretched and so aroused by the situation.”Come ooon,” she whined softly as he stopped. “Why do you do this to me?”

"You know why, Sweetheart; I don’t want to hurt you," he breathed in her ear. 

Pippa tightened the muscles of her legs and arched, pressing her round ass against Steve to encourage him, once, twice, until he eventually decided to move with her.

"Thank you… for your cooperation," she panted with a provoking smile, losing her breath with every thrust. He started a slow pace at first, but as her hips moved faster, he sped up to match her speed. He still held back, not trusting himself to go as hard, deep, or as fast as he really could.

His muscle memory did work in his favor as he lifted her hips to the perfect angle where he could graze over the spot that always made her moan and gasp the times before. He whispered an endless string of praise and declarations of love as he found the right balance of strokes and speed.

When he looked down, he realized he was still wearing his fingerless gloves and used his teeth to remove them. Then gave her another soft smack on her ass, not too loud.

"Such a beautiful rump. Finest ass in all of the US of A. I’d expect nothing less for Captain America’s girl."

It was then that Pippa realized she was indeed having sex with Captain America, for the first time it wasn’t her Stevie at home but the hero about to help save the world. The thought made her face turn red and her moans louder. She arched, selfishly searching for her own pleasure, riding the waves, her head resting on her forearms.

As her whines and moans grew noisier, she grabbed for the closest thing that could muffle them and bit Steve’s glove. It smelled an intoxicating combination of leather, sweat, and gunpowder, a kink she didn’t know she had until this very moment. She tensed, accidentally kicked Steve’s shin with her boots, too focused on the pleasure building in her. One thrust, she was so close. Two thrusts, so so close. Steve’s weight crushing her, his firm hand over her mouth to help dampen her screams, and his ragged breath against her ear were the final triggers as she came, teary-eyed.

Even with her trying to be quiet and his attempts to muffle her, his super hearing allowed him to hear her moan his name as she tensed around him so tight he felt like he couldn’t move. After he felt her relax, he dropped his hand to the side and started quick shallow thrusts, both scared and thrilled that the pilot could walk in on them at any moment. It wasn’t until Pippa put her hand over his and purred how much she loved him that he found his own release.

The moment he let it go was like a reward for her, the pleasure to know the apparently so square Steve Rogers could lose control, hold her harder than he wanted, squeeze her without even thinking. After he gently pulled out of her, kissing her neck and down her back, he pulled her around and up into his arms. Steve was always clingy after they made love as if she would disappear if he didn’t hold her.

“¿ _Estás bien_?” 

“ _Muy bien, Papi_ ; hmm, oh how I love you!” She let out a soft throaty laugh and relaxed in his arms, happy that his strong muscles were still able to hold her when her own were weak as cooked spaghetti.


	2. Chapter 2

After a time of kissing and trying to clean up, their reverie was interrupted by some banging on the door and the intercom buzzing. 

"You guys are okay?" the pilot asked over the box. "Fury just told me he can’t reach you!"

"It’s fine," Pippa replied, slightly out of breath, grabbing her earpiece. "Must have been a dead spot!" As she pressed the button to talk to the director, she couldn’t keep her hands off Steve’s sweaty body and face, touching and kissing him with a bright smile.

Steve turned slightly red, bit at his lip, and smiled when she started talking to Director Fury. It was like getting caught by your parents, and he wondered if the director could hear the slight change in Pippa’s voice. Perhaps just Steve could, and maybe only Steve knew what the change was a result of. He moved to assemble his uniform back and silently showed her the bite marks on his glove with a smirk. 

“Naughty girl,” he mouthed.

Pippa bit her lower lip to hold back a chuckle and buttoned up her pants. With a wink she blew a kiss to Steve but her smile changed into a soft frown hearing the most recent news. She finished her call, and sat on the bench with a heavy sigh, finally able to catch her breath.

"Oh, come here," she purred snuggling against Steve. "One day we’re gonna have to stop going at it like rabbits but I’m really loving it. Love you, too!" She kissed his jaw, his throat, running a hand on his chest. "You know I didn’t realize until you told me that I was fucked on the dusty floor of a Quinjet by Captain America himself. It’s funny-- he’s almost as good as you."

"Almost, eh?" Steve chuckled and placed his hand over hers. “Well, I guess he does seem to be lacking when it comes to picking romantic locations to um, ‘go at it.’" He reached down and brushed at her knees where some dirt had smudged then kissed her tenderly.

"You were amazing as always, my darling. Did I hurt your mouth any? You were getting louder and louder and I—." Her phone buzzing with new emails interrupted his train of thought. "More info on the mission?"

"Bad news is S.H.I.E.L.D. found out a few more things about the sleeper cell we’re going to check: they might be working on more than just that nanotech we're here for, about four months ago they received several shipments from the lab where you were kept in Düsseldorf. Fury’s worried they might have some of your blood samples and…" She licked her lips with a knowing smile. "...he wants us to wait when we land for backup, it’ll be at least an hour."

He felt his stomach drop when she mentioned the samples. Although they had found some of the vials over the months, there were still a handful unaccounted for. The missing samples had haunted his thoughts, what Hydra could be doing, what monsters they could be creating that he wouldn’t be able to stop. Hopefully this would be the place, he could take back what was his or at least destroy whatever they had done with it.

"A whole hour?" Steve protested, a new surge of adrenaline coursed through veins, ready for a fight. “If they have the vials, every minute matters. If you had waited even just five minutes more in Germany..." he stopped himself from finishing his thought. A lot of that time, especially his rescue, was foggy like the memory belonged to someone else, like he had just watched it in a movie. But he had seen the look on Pippa’s face and knew it wasn’t the same for her. "Every minute counts, we have our plan of attack." 

“As if Fury really expected me to wait for backup!” She looked at Steve, raised an eyebrow. “I’m sure he’s worried for nothing, nobody has ever managed to replicate the serum. Most likely, anything they have produced with your blood will be a sad imitation, nothing we can’t handle.” She opened the plans of the lab she had just received and showed them to Steve whose memory she trusted more than her own. 

“I say we get in, find the source of radiation to know what kind of energy they use, message the Bravo Team about it, and while they take their time to follow us, we get the samples to bring back to HQ. We’ll be quick and quiet,” she predicted before chuckling at the parallel with their previous naughty activities.

He read through all the documents S.H.I.E.L.D. had sent, studying where guards would likely be, where weak points were. He had been prepared to have Pippa’s safety as his top priority, and now it was doubled with Fury’s wanting more agents on the scene. He trusted Pippa, but knew her history, her brashness and lion-heart. When they were on the ground, he pulled her by the arm in for a quick kiss on the lips.

"That was for luck, and this..." he leaned in again kissing her deeply and passionately, worthy of any romantic movie or cheesy novel. Pulling back, he hummed and then cocked his gun.  
”...was just for you. I love you, Pippa. Be safe.”

"I love you, too, Steve!" she smiled, gun in hand. "Don’t get hurt."

They ran north for ten minutes, then headed west and found in the middle of a clearing the small Hydra facilities. It was a relatively modest structure but it emitted way too much energy to skip S.H.I.E.L.D.’s attention. When they arrived next to the most isolated entrance, Pippa crouched behind containers labeled with warning signs and looked at Steve.

There were two men on the right, three on the left, visibly taking a smoke break. She showed Steve one of the cameras, and Steve pointed to another she hadn’t seen. With a swift move of fingers he suggested they split up to attack them from behind while avoiding being seen. Pippa nodded, she only needed one look to explain she would get the two guards on the right and Steve the others. And as she turned around the containers to get behind the men’s backs, she couldn’t help marveling at how easy communications were with Steve, how good it was to have a partner who could understand her so quickly!

They took down the guards efficiently and without making a sound at all. Steve swiped their passkeys and moved them to a crate where they wouldn’t rouse suspicion by being seen. Once inside the building, Steve lead the way to the main lab area on the second floor as it had been marked on the map.

All they had to do was get some computer files and see if they had any super serum project going. He carefully checked a blind corner at the top of the stairs and saw two guards at a door. He signaled Pippa and motioned for the bio-disks that would emit a gas to make those within the area feel nauseated. She put on her mask and within 30 seconds, the two guards were running off in the opposite direction clutching their mouths, faces completely green. The lab was empty, but all the machines and computers were on.

"Good thing we didn’t wait; it looks like it is lunch time." He smiled as he saw Pippa plug a small USB key in the main computer and launch the hacking program developed by Stark. She regularly looked around as she copied the hard drive’s data onto the key. 

She was almost done when she noticed the blinking light above one of the doors. They had about thirty seconds before someone would come in, maybe forty-five if they were lucky, and she still needed another minute to get all the files. 

"Find anything, sweetheart?" she asked without looking at Steve.

Steve was carefully looking over a station that had different flasks and containers. A collection of slides with smears of blood caught his attention, and he looked closer at the small labels.

{C. AMERICA - #842 - failure}  
{C. AMERICA - #843 - failure}  
{C. AMERICA - #844 - failure}  
{C. AMERICA - #845 - failure}  
{C. AMERICA - #846 - success}

He couldn’t find the air to reply, just looking at the slide and trying to figure out what “success” could mean. The door’s handle started rattling against the chair he had wedged to secure it. He grabbed the slides and put them in his belt.

Steve saw Pippa was still working at the terminal, so he steadied himself and moved towards the door. He could buy her more time or at least cover her while she escaped. They had both identified the blacked out back window in the lab they could repel down as their exit strategy. All he had to do was keep them away from it and she could get out.

The blond was trying to keep his cool, but with each bang against the door, his heart beat just a bit faster until finally the Hydra guards had broken down the door. Pippa jumped over the desk at the very moment the doors opened and as one of the guards pathetically tried to punch Steve in the face, she felt her protective instincts come back. Hiding behind the desk, she aimed for their heads, shooting two men while Steve attacked with his bare hands and his shield.

A tiny beep was the signal that all the data was transferred; Pippa shoved the device in her pocket and stood on the desk to get a better view of the scene. Steve was doing great, as usual.

"Time to leave, Cap!" she warned and shot out the window behind them.. As he neutralized the waves of guards, Pippa noticed one of them was different-- cowering behind the others, smaller, skinnier, wearing thick glasses, and holding a different kind of gun. The end of his weapon looked like a hypodermic needle. 

Pippa’s face turned white and she shouted, "Cap, get over here, now!!"

He turned at her command and started moving back towards the new exit. He could hear the StarkTech grappling line attaching to the wall. It was strong enough to hold ten people, but only as long as they had the right identifying chip in their glove, without, it was impossible to hold onto and if no one with a chip was holding on, it would break apart. However in moving away from the door, more guards could get in the room at once and the wave of bullets intensified.

It seemed to Steve that they were only focusing on him, not really paying much attention to Pippa at all. It was the way he liked. He realized he may have a martyr complex, but he also knew his shield and body could take the damage better than anyone except for maybe Banner.

As Pippa got through the window and was about to slide down the grappling line, a bullet grazed Steve’s arm, tearing the fabric of his uniform and causing blood to start running down. He faltered just a bit, and the guards immediately stopped firing their guns. The unit parted clearing the way for the small guy to pick up the slack. Five darts were suddenly grouped in Steve’s arm around the wound.

Pippa was climbing out when she heard Steve’s soft exclamation and her heart missed a beat. She looked behind, reassured to see him still standing, grabbed Steve’s arm and pulled him towards her and out the window.

As they ran into the jungle cover heading towards the rendezvous spot, Steve pulled the darts out and suppressed a pained cry as each barbed needle tore the muscle and flesh of his bicep more. Almost all of the darts but one were completely empty of this unknown liquid.

All that she could think of was Steve’s pained voice and the way his breath caught in his throat with each step. But she kept running forward, pushing the leaves away, she only wanted to get to a safer place and check on her man. When they reached the spot, his lungs were burning, and his arm was still bleeding. He leaned on his good side against a tree, holding the bloody spot where his arm had been damaged, feeling winded and light headed.

Steve looked at his girl as she evaluated the path they had just come. The adrenaline in his body was starting to crash and make him want to give his legs a break. He smiled at how strong she looked in that moment, so collected and put together even if her hair had come slightly undone and tussled in the fight and run. He loved her so much, every part of her personality both soft and hard.

"I don’t think they followed us. Didja get all the files, Sweetheart?"

When she turned around to look at Steve and reply she had everything she needed, her eyes widened. Steve was pale, sweating like she had never seen him, seemed in pain and slightly breathless. Perhaps working with her wasn’t a good thing for him after all, he probably worried too much, that would explain why he looked so upset.

Pippa walked to him, placed a hand on his shoulder to examine his biceps but the discrete noise of the backup team approaching distracted her. She went to them to give her instructions: get in there, capture as many individuals as they could, and clear the place. She then called their pilot and ordered him to get ready to take them back to the Helicarrier and radio for a medical team.

The pain in his arm was starting to intensify and spread to other parts of his body. He couldn’t keep quiet anymore; his joints burned, his muscles ached, and it felt like all of his organs were twisting. He was shaking so badly he had to have support from Pippa to get back to the plane, where he collapsed to the bench and felt her put a shock blanket from the first aid kit over him.

"I haven’t felt this terrible in years. I’ve been poisoned before, why is the serum not taking care of it like it did those times?" He opened his hand that had been clutching at the dart with some of the poison still in it.

Steve noticed that his hand seemed to move more in the glove than before, like it was too big for him. The darts must have altered his perception because then the pain doubled and he felt his uniform loosen, no longer skin-tight around his chest, thighs, and arms.

"Pippa, something is wrong. I found some test slides with my blood on them. They are in my belt. I—" He howled and his eyes shot open as the pain coursed through his body. Steve felt that he was dying. He had done it once, and now he was going that route again, but this time it felt different with his girl next to him. “I love you, Pippa. I wanted you to mar—” Steve’s whole body curled in with the pain and a scream escaped him before he finally passed out. 

Pippa was trying to think, to analyze the situation as he trembled and shook on the bench; his scream made her body go slow, petrified with terror, unable to form coherent thoughts, as if her brains couldn’t work in front of a loved one in pain.

This was real panic, not just fear or stress like she often felt in her job. It was an intimate terror that prevented her from having any kind of reaction. Steve’s heartbreaking shout echoed in the small plane, it took her awhile to gather her strength and call the Helicarrier. 

"Rogers is down. We’ need you to get the ship towards us. I-if… just… prepare a quarantine room and decontamination showers, we might have a bio-hazard emergency. They… did something… to Steve."

Her shaky fingers found the edge of the blanket, pulled it back, and saw him awkwardly changing, being transformed into something she couldn’t identify. She could be contaminated but she didn’t care at all, only worried about what Steve could feel. Even passed out, he seemed in pain, his body shaking and sweating as if he were suffering from an intense fever.

"Stay with me, Steve…" she whispered.

Steve was getting smaller, much smaller with every second. His body was withering on the bench with terrifying sounds, his muscles seemed to be melting, and his silhouette was disappearing in her arms as she pulled him up towards her. His uniform slipped from his body, revealing bony shoulders and a skinny chest; his gloves fell to the floor. 

Pippa gasped when she looked back at his face but it was no longer what she was accustomed to. Instead, it was the face she only recognized from pictures-- the face of a small, skinny, young man who had trouble breathing. 

When his body finally stopped melting, she managed to radio the Helicarrier again. “They… th—they found an antidote for the serum."


	3. Chapter 3

Steve woke slowly, curled up on his right side, fluttering his eyes in a darkened room with a person sitting next to his bed. The man’s eyes were shining and reflecting the light from the device he was reading. Curly hair, hunched posture, solemn expression— it was his fellow Avenger.

"Dr. Banner," Steve started, then panic set in. “How long was I out? What year is it?" He made a movement to right himself, but his left arm was wrapped and bound to his side.

"It’s ok, Steve, and you know you can call me Bruce." The older man comforted, placing a warm hand on Steve’s leg. “You’re on the Helicarrier and have been out for about 5 hours. Medical sedated you for the stitches and tests. Thought it best."

"Pippa! Is she—?"

"She’s fine, Steve; she’s fine. Well, not like 100% fine, a little shaken. She sat here at your side until Fury called her into another meeting about half hour ago."

Steve started coughing, and Bruce helped him sit up, holding a cup of water to his lips. When the blond reached up to take the cup, he finally noticed the difference in their hands. Pulling back in shock and horror, Steve looked down and touched at his chest and legs.

"Oh God…" The heart monitor started beeping its warning as Steve’s pulse quickened. “Oh God, please no…"

"It’s ok, Steve. It’s ok." Bruce sat next to the lithe man, holding him as he broke down in his arms.

"I’ve lost everything, Bruce… my health, Captain America, and…" he sobbed into the doctor’s shoulder. “I have lost Pippa, too. She won’t want me like this."

"Steve…" Bruce started, but didn’t know how to finish. Instead, he continued holding and slightly rocking the smaller crying man in his arms like the son he never had.

\--

Pippa had immediately required Stark and Banner’s presence, wanting to have the best brains she knew on this case. She just didn’t want to think about what would happen if they couldn’t turn Steve back to his usual form. 

She couldn’t get back to the infirmary until that evening after several meetings and debriefs with the Bravo Team and then the Avengers . There were almost no prisoners, the small scientist had committed suicide right after his capture, and while the tech teams were working on the encrypted data, nothing was found yet. It’s only when the sky started to darken that she was called into the infirmary.

"Agent, two things," Stark announced as she joined him and Banner. Steve was on the other side of the room, his bed hidden behind curtains to block all of the other agents’ curiosity. Word had traveled fast that Captain America no longer was and everybody felt they needed to see it with their own eyes to actually believe it. 

"First, we’re not exactly certain of what’s going on in his body, but it seems the serum is still present. It just doesn’t work anymore. We need to find out why, and then how we can reactivate it again."

Banner licked his lips and sighed, “Also, it might take time, we need to run a lot more tests but we shouldn’t take any more blood from him for a few days, between what he lost from his wound and being so weak and…”

Pippa blinked. “Take as much blood as you need,” she ordered. “He’s Steve Rogers, the bravest man I’ve ever met. I know he can take it.” The two scientist gave each other a look behind her back as she walked away from them to the curtains and asked, “Steve? Can I… can I come in?”

Steve had heard people talking but frustratingly couldn’t understand what they were saying. When he did identify Pippas voice, he straightened up in the bed, trying to arrange the sheets to cover as much of himself as he could. He wanted to hide what he could from her.

"Of course you can come in, Pippa." His voice was still raw and ragged from his talk with Bruce. He tried taming his hair with spit slicked fingers as she pulled the curtain back.

Pippa would have lied if she had said she wasn’t shocked by Steve’s new state. During all the hours she stayed next to the tiny frame in the too large bed, she kept hoping they could easily give him back his super-soldier shape, afraid she wouldn’t manage to love him the same, as horrible as it made her. Looking at his unconscious body, she wasn’t sure she could adapt to this person she felt she didn’t know.

However, when she pulled the curtain and saw him there, looking at her with his big blue eyes and his usual pout, trying to look better just for her, she felt her heart swell with the happiness of seeing him alive. With a teary grin plastered on her face, she rushed to his side. Now he was no stranger, he was her man! Good, loving, and beautiful in every way.

"Oh… Steve," she exclaimed as she took his small hand in hers. "I was so scared! How do you feel?"

“Smaller…” he averted his eyes and his thumb nervously made circles on her palm as he gathered the nerve to say what he felt he had to. “Pippa, I know what you want to do, and I completely understand. I don’t think any less of you for it either. Tony said I could stay at the tower while I figure out where to go from here, what I can do now that I am... this.” 

He felt worse than when he woke up in the new century. This time he was losing everything, but it was still right there-- not denied by time but by his own shortcomings. “You were the best thing that was ever mine, and I will always love you, Swee— Pippa.” His eyes were starting to blur again. Pippa stared at the quivering figure, not sure about what he meant exactly.

"S-staying at the tower? We move into the loft in a few days." she stammered, her hand weak between his slender fingers. "Do you want to… are you breaking up with me?" She didn’t understand why he would do this, was it because she would be bigger and stronger than him for a while? Or was he disappointed in her actions during the attack, her inability to protect him?

“No, you’re breaking up with me. I could never leave you, but this isn’t what you signed on for. Everything special about me came out of a bottle and now it’s gone and I am not good enough for you. ” A tear slid down his face. “You deserve better.” he’s whispered. 

Agents Romanov and Hill were walking down a corridor next to the infirmary just like many other agents, and all of them jumped when they heard Pippa shout. "Steve Rogers, you’re SUCH AN IDIOT!!!" Pippa’s nerves had snapped and all the fear and pain of the previous hours were now gone. She wasn’t really mad at him, but all the stress had turned into anger, and she just couldn’t control herself, not after what he had just said.

"This is really what you think of me?" she exclaimed, arms raised above her head as medics left the infirmary not to be in the path of her fury. “Do ya really think I am that bitch? That I said ‘I love you’ to your muscles or your ass? That I wanted to move in with some spangly suit? Really? That’s not me!”

He looked at her face suddenly accepting what she had just said. “Wait, you still want to live with me?” She gave him an incredulous look in response. 

“I thought by now you would know that. So you’re gonna stop implying what you’re implying. You’re my man, and you will be my man, and we will live together until you grow tired of me. And yes with the way I’m screaming right now, I know it could happen sooner rather than later, but I don’t give a damn! Do you read me, Rogers?!"

"You still want to move in with me!" he said with a amazed and still slightly disbelieving tone. The stupidest grin broke across his face even as another tear fell down his cheek. 

Having only known utter rejection from women when in this body, Steve felt punch drunk thinking on her words. He disregarded her stern tone as he was so focused on what she was actually saying. He reached up to cusp her neck, gently pulling her towards him-- without any strength behind it, it was more of a request than a command. He leaned into her and kissed her on the lips.


	4. Chapter 4

"Whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with me, Baby," she joked before wondering if the ‘baby’ was appropriate with his new looks.

"Yes, I’m sorry; you’re right, that’s not you at all. Before when..." he stopped himself. Just because he had his old body back didn’t mean that suddenly everything was like was then. Pippa was clearly better than any girl Bucky had dug up for him, and again she was proving it with her love and her strength. The actions of that day flooded into his mind with perfect clarity, and he gasped a little.

"Pippa! You saved my life; you pulled me through the window and got me to the plane as I was becoming more,” he paused trying to think of the right word, “compromised. It was because of you I didn’t get captured." He moved closer to her still and the sheet moved, exposing how his collar bone popped away from his chest and how narrow his hips and waist now were. "Thank you, Sweetheart."

Pippa tried not to look at his frail body but she couldn’t help, both curious and shocked. She smiled sadly and ran a hand on his chest.

"Don’t thank me," she whispered, swallowing a lump in her throat. "I’m so sorry; I’m the one who put you through this. If I had been more reasonable, we would have waited for backup, and you wouldn’t have been hurt."

"Hey, hey, no you didn’t put me through anything. I was Gung-ho to go in, too. This isn’t your fault." 

There were tears in her eyes when she looked back to Steve but she smiled, trying to look comforting for him. He most likely felt worse. She took his hands and nodded, like a solemn promise.

"Now this is how it goes, I don’t know how long it will take, but I will do my best to find a solution. I’ll be here for you, and will make sure all the best scientists work on this situation. In the meantime, I can’t promise you’ll feel great, but medication has evolved since your era, and you won’t be as sick as you used to be…" She looked down, tracing the tendons on Steve’s hands with her fingers. 

"And in the end you’ll do what you want Steve. I don’t want you back to Captain America at all costs; I really don’t. You can stay like this forever, and I won’t love you any less. I just want them to find a solution so you can have a choice, everybody should have a choice. But this is not my decision, only yours. I just want you to feel good in your own body."

He petted her hair as she made promises he hoped she wouldn’t have to keep. He knew it was one thing to say it now, another when the reality of his illnesses would manifest. He would no longer be able to hold her up against a wall or in any way at all, he would barely be able to hold himself up. His cheeks colored as he thought about the two of them being intimate again. Just then Tony and Bruce came back with a S.H.I.E.L.D. doctor. They took a few more vials of blood, but as the doctor went to put the fourth tube on, Bruce stayed his hand.

"That’s enough for now." There was such authority with a tinge of anger in the statement that no one in the room seemed to argue. The doctor then rewrapped Steve’s bad arm and put it in a sling, warning him not to use it so the stitches wouldn’t pull and the torn muscle tissue would heal. Finally, they presented him with five bottles of different pills and showed him how to use an inhaler.

"We can manage most of your illnesses now, and with the modern advancement of _heating and food_ ,” Tony teased, “you should be able to function pretty well. Pepper even brought some clothes for you to wear while Bruce and I figure out how to fix you.”

"And we will crack this, Steve. I promise," Bruce added. Steve smiled and gave a short nod. Pippa may not want him back at all costs, but he needed to be, and was glad Bruce was so adamant.

"Thank you, Bruce, Tony. I appreciate it.”

"You are free to go now, Captain Rogers." The doctor shook Steve’s hand and the three of them left, leaving behind a bag of clothes Pepper had put together. 

Once the curtains were pulled, she sat on the edge of the bed, legs crossed, and looked at him as he put on the clothes. She wanted to get used to his temporary form as soon as she could, to be able to act as if everything was normal. He faced away, and only changed his pants, keeping the children’s sized Hulk shirt on that he woke up in. Her heart clenched though when Steve had to squeeze his pants with his belt to prevent them from slipping down his narrow hips.

In less than one hour, a taxi dropped them at Steve’s place, and Pippa didn’t let go of his hand until the door closed to make sure he knew she wasn’t ashamed of him. Almost half of the apartment was already stored in a couple of cardboard boxes, only his books and what was needed everyday remained in its usual place. Pippa put down her keys, removed her jacket, shoes, socks and pants and made herself at home, as she always did.

"Oh, I’m spent!" she yawned. "What do you want to order tonight sweetheart? I really don’t feel up to helping you cook."

"I—" He was about to reply that just because he was smaller didn’t mean he wasn’t perfectly capable of fixing dinner still, but then remembered the sling and realized that wasn’t what she meant.

"I think pizza would be good?" He looked at the clock and saw it was already really late. His own sense of time altered by being out most of the day. “Maggiano Brothers’ is still open, but if you are tired and want to go to bed I can just graaaa—" He had tried to take off his shoes while still standing just inside the door as he always did, but he lost his balance and tumbled to the floor. Steve’s injured arm’s elbow hit the wooden floors with a ‘thud’ that shot a pain through his bones. His eyes watered as he tried in vain to right himself. 

Pippa was genuinely surprised, hearing the sound his elbow made, that Steve didn’t scream and she blamed herself for not helping him out sooner, her brave little soldier. She ran to him and slowly slid a hand under his armpit to lift him, trying not to look too protective.

"Oops, you’re still a little dizzy," she stated. "I’ll just make some sandwiches if you don’t mind. What about a good ‘whatever-I-find-in-the-fridge’ hoagie?" She saw Steve flinch and hated to see the frustration on his face. Just before she went to the kitchen, she kissed him hard on the lips and whispered, "Hey you always take care of me, for once let me take care of you okay?” 

"But you said you weren’t up to working in the kitchen tonight." He followed her and sat at the table while she started pulling things out of the fridge. “And when have you ever turned down pizza?"

Where she had placed her bag and keys down, he saw the report someone at S.H.I.E.L.D. must have made that listed all of his known illnesses from the 40’s and some new ones they must have identified while he was out during the day.

…  
 _Prone to ear infections  
Parent/sibling with diabetes  
Anemic  
Lactose intolerant_  
…

"Oh… yeah,” he sighed. He wouldn’t be able to be as adventurous with his cooking as he had grown accustomed to. He slid the report away, unable to fully handle the long list at the moment.

"I’m not really tired." She turned and shot him a knowing look that made him smile despite how crummy he was feeling. “Ok, I’m tired, but I’m not sleepy. I feel like I should be doing something… helping Tony and Bruce or I don’t know… something."

As she placed the plates she had made and a glasses of orange juice on the table in front of him, he turned and wrapped his arm around her hips, burying his face in her stomach.

"I’m so sorry Pippa— for getting hurt, for scaring you, for what I said, for being clumsy, for just… this whole damn day.” She held him and kissed the top of his head, unable to reply. He paused for a second and then sighed, looked up at her face and couldn’t help but blush. 

“Well, almost the whole day. I’m not sorry that you got out ok, and I’m not sorry about our plane ride this morning. That was great.”

Pippa had to bite her lower lip to not urge him to eat, dammit. He was so thin and looked so weak. Instead she brushed her hands on his face, gently, patiently. She sat next to him and nuzzled his cheek.

"It was great indeed, always a pleasure working with you," she winked. "But right now the best thing to do is to take care of yourself and make sure you can be ready to work as soon as you can. We can’t help the kids—uh, Bruce and Stark right now, it’s not our field, but we can make sure you’re ready to get back to work in a few days and save lives."

She watched as he had a hard time shoving a piece of sandwich in his smaller mouth and lost his breath trying to drink. After a while she realized she had been staring for most of their dinner but she didn’t care, she couldn’t help memorizing every part of him.

"I really don’t understand the girls of your era," she smiled boldly, wiping her mouth. "You’re so sweet, you look handsome; I wouldn’t have hesitated if I had met you like this back then. And then when you would have talked to me, proved how good and smart you were, I would have been on my knees…" She was only realizing now that things had changed how her love for him blinded her. For her, he was admirable, heroic, and strong and she needed to flirt, to show him things wouldn’t be different between them.

Steve choked on his drink, surprised at her bawdy talk, but he recovered quickly as images of Pippa in a gabardine dress with her hair done in victory curls made his skin feel warm. He pushed away his half uneaten sandwich and smiled back at her.

"Well, I don’t think I would have had much of a chance to talk to you back then, the fellas would have been lined up to dance with you. I wouldn’t have stood a chance." He reached and stroked the back of her hand lightly with his fingertips, very aware of his heartbeat pounding in his chest.

A shadow cast over Pippa’s eyes but she smiled, trying to ignore what would have really happened to her in the 30’s. Nothing good, she’d have had to stay in the closet, would have been harassed or even worse for dressing as a woman. But she smiled, leaned her head on Steve’s shoulder, and kissed his neck.

"Tell me, for tonight, when we sleep can we still cuddle? It’s ok if you don’t, I just really want to keep you close but not if it makes you uncomfortable."

He thought for a few moments on it, trying to reason one way or the other. “No, I don’t think I’d ever mind your touching me. But, do you think we could switch sides so you wouldn’t be up against my bad arm?”

He rose to put the food he couldn’t finish in the fridge and then placed his glass in the sink. He bit his lip and colored, mortified to be asking.

"And, could you help me change? I don’t think I can manage the shirt on my own after that… um… fall earlier." 

"You’ve helped me with so many things for the last four months," Pippa assured as she got up. "Don’t be afraid, it’s okay."

She finished clearing the table and followed Steve to his bed. She saw him wince in pain when she started pulling up the XS T-shirt and kissed his lips to comfort him a little. She hated to see him hurt despite all her precautions but she slowly stripped him of his shirt and ran her hands over his shoulder blades. He was frail, physically tiny, but she could feel his strength and his will to appear brave in front of her.


	5. Chapter 5

"You seem so tense, darling. How about a good massage?" she asked, taking a small bottle of oil from her bedside. "You’ll have to sit though."

He silently nodded and arranged himself on the huge bed. It now seemed comically large as the two of them hardly took up any of the space. Steve melted into her touch, each stroke taking away a worry he was carrying in his shoulders. With her smooth legs bracketing his, each kiss on the back of his neck, her soft little encouragements, he felt himself slowly growing harder.

"How tired are you Pippa?" he asked, twisting so he could kiss at her neck. Pippa burst out laughing in his back, her face against his neck. 

“Oh Steve… everybody spent all day worrying for you but I see you’re okay!” She ran her hands up his thighs and cupped his crotch with a purr. More humble but always hard for her as she could feel. “Now how are we gonna do that with your arm, Babe?” _And his smaller frame she could crush anytime, and his breathing problems, and his weak heart?_ Still trying to figure out something she scooted on the bed to get in front of him and brought his hand to her lips to lick at two of his fingers with a naughty smile.

"Find a position that doesn’t hurt," she invited as she removed her blouse. "I’ll take care of the rest." He moaned as she sucked on his digits, giving him a look that could make him finish right now. He swallowed hard and scooted back against their pillows. She followed and hovered over him.

"Let’s try your riding me." He ran his hand down the side of her body, squeezing at her hip. Steve then dropped to try to unbuckle his belt while kissing her cleavage, but he was struggling with only using one hand.

Doubt was starting to invade his mind. If he couldn’t even get his pants off on his own, would he really be able to get her off? Would she not be satisfied with his smaller body? Just when he had almost convinced himself he was going to be a disappointment, he felt her hands over his helping with the belt buckle and he arched his hips as she pulled his pants and boxers down his thin legs.

She let his clothes fall on the floor and removed her bra, tossing it away with a mischievous grin. But as she lowered herself to kiss him and run her hands down his skinny body, she couldn’t help feeling disturbed. Fortunately he smelled the same, he sounded almost the same, but he still felt like a stranger. What her hands found was not her Steve, and she didn’t know how to touch him anymore.

The most unpleasant detail though was when she looked at their bodies, her strong thighs next to his, her too large hands. She was bigger, thicker, and if she hadn’t had larger hips, she would have felt really bad about it. However, when Steve’s smaller hand reached for her breasts she smiled, at least it was nice they looked bigger now.

"Is this okay, sweetheart?" she asked as she straddled him. "I don’t wanna smother you with my boobs…"

"Maybe I wouldn’t mind," he replied, cheekily. He saw the slight hesitation in her eyes, the reserve in her touch. He skimmed across the skin of her collar up to her neck.

"We… don’t have to if you aren’t feeling in the mood. I’d understand," he whispered. Steve’s eyes darted away, wishing he had turned off the lamp before he was completely naked, exposed, and unsure of himself.

"I don’t think I could ever not be in the mood with you," Pippa grinned. She could feel his hard-on against her thigh as she kissed his throat and chest, her fingers on his nipples. Backing up a little she took the lube in the nightstand, removed her panties and slicked two of her fingers.

"Adrenaline sex in the morning," she enumerated as she expertly prepared herself, the first time Steve didn’t do it for her. "Comfort sex at night, all the occasions are good for me." She arched and rolled her hips, amused by Steve’s wide eyes. Even if he couldn’t see exactly her hand he seemed to enjoy the view, or so she hoped.

As she positioned herself on top of him, her breasts inches away from his mouth, she asked,  
"Just tell me if I hurt you, your arm might not like my rocking." And she lowered herself with a relieved sigh until they were as close as possible, him inside her, familiar and yet so different.

As he was buried in her slick heat, the air was taken from him and he struggled to keep his eyes open. Risking the pain, he moved his injured arm so the sling was off and his hand rested on her ass. When she started to move he moaned and threw his head back, exposing his neck.  
"Oh that’s so good, Pippa." They set a slow, loving pace, a change from their usual more athletic couplings. Even so, he felt his skin bruising where her thighs met his hip, but he didn’t care. Her skin felt warm, and he realized it was because his hands were now colder.

Steve made small thrusts up, trying to hit her sweet spot. He ignored his burning lungs and pounding heart as he gazed at her beautiful face then licked and sucked at her nipples. This felt so different than any other time, his own sensitivity not as pronounced, the dull pain throughout his body keeping him from having to concentrate on not coming too soon. Steve could just float, basking in her affections and the sweet sounds escaping her mouth.

His cool hands on her made her shiver and his soft fingers tickled her waist. Pippa had to focus to really get aroused, her heart missing a beat every time his breath caught in his throat. But as she relaxed, slowly moving on top of him, it all started to feel just right. In the end it was all about being with him, close to him, not matter what he felt like.

"I love you, Steve," she whispered as she slid her hand down her hip to touch herself. "Love you so much, my man, my hero."

She unconsciously moved faster, less careful, and gripped the headboard with her other hand. "Make me come," she begged softly to turn him on, trying not to listen to the voices in her head warning her that Steve would take it a personal challenge, and perhaps fail or hurt himself with the effort. And once again she cursed herself for not being just like other girls, able to fake an orgasm just to comfort him if her body didn’t cooperate.

Steve tried to shift to gain better leverage, but he was effectively pinned under her weight. He struggled for a bit until he felt and heard his hip pop. Thinking quickly, he softly patted her thigh.  
"Get on your hands and knees for me, Pippa; like this morning." When she had turned her back, he took the deep gasping breaths he had been desperate for the last ten minutes. Adding more lube to his cock, they adjusted their legs until they were again aligned and he could push back into her.

He felt better in this position, still finding it hard to breathe but at least not having to hide it on his face. Steve did love taking care of her, and looking down at her smooth strong back, he could imagine nothing had changed since the plane ride.

Panting, he closed his eyes and contorted his body to angle to reach his target. Hearing her cry out and feeling her clench around him, he knew he had found it. Redoubling his efforts, he rocked his hips back and forth, his legs trembling from the position and his own exhaustion.

"Sweetheart, I love you so much. You’re so tight; you feel so good.” Steve’s good hand squeezed harder at her hip. When she finally did finish, fisting the sheets and moaning his name, Pippa’s orgasm didn’t even relax her as she kept worrying for him. After a few seconds of pleasure, she looked back at his skinny legs and smiled, even in pain and exhaustion he would always want her to be first. Striving always to please her, no matter what. Who could have guessed the real prince charming was a tiny shrimp from the 30’s?

She shifted her weight on her knees to take the control from, allowing him just to be as she bounced her ass against his pelvis, then rolled her hips in smooth moves. “Like that, sexy?” 

He sucked in a big gulp of air and let out a breathy “yes.” His eyes started to water as it really became hard to breathe, but she felt so good, he didn’t want to stop to find his inhaler. The sides of his vision became brighter and brighter, until finally he came harder than he ever had before. Everything went completely white for awhile until he came to, Pippa was holding him, petting his hair, and looking more upset than he had seen her in awhile.

"Kiss me, Pippa," he hoarsely whispered and reached up to stroke her face. "You almost killed me with your sexiness." He gave a little laugh, but it turned into a coughing fit.

"The next thing you’ll kiss is this," Pippa replied in a cold tone, holding the inhaler close to his face. "Scare me like this one more time and you’ll see me angry. Trust me you’ve never really seen me angry…" She moved back as Steve desperately tried to kiss her. “Breathe first, you idiot! I’m not into corpses. I’m not very demanding, but I do like my partners alive!”

She patiently waited while he took a few puffs, rubbing her warm palms on his chest until Steve’s wheeze seemed to calm down. Only then Pippa kissed the top of his head with a reprobative sigh.

"Next time you need a break just tell me, silly. It won’t ruin the mood as much as emergency mouth-to-mouth."

"I didn’t want to have to need a break. I thought I could handle it, and it felt so good." He shifted up and pulled her closer. “Please, give me one of your magical healing kisses. I need them more now.” He gave her the most pitiful puppy dog eyes and then nuzzled her neck. "Please…"

Pippa shook her head with a soft smile. “Damn, I can’t even stay mad at you!” She tilted his head and kissed him gently, carefully. As she sucked on his bottom lip then pushed her tongue against his, taking her time to make sure he didn’t choke, she realized she had never before been so tender with him, so careful about what he felt and liked. She had always thought he could handle anything but now that she had to be soft and prudent, the kiss was much more sensual, she was aware of his every breath, his every sigh.

"Now, love of my life, will you be reasonable and try to sleep?" she whispered knowingly. "I’m sure you could use some rest, I know I would."

"I don’t think ‘reasonable’ has ever been attached to my name before." He pecked her again on the cheek and moved off the bed, holding one of the blankets around his waist. His legs were still wobbly, and he almost fell again, but righted himself before he did.

"I’m just going to hop in for a quick—- bath, I guess, with these bandages." He looked over at his arm now curled into his side, still out of the sling. "But if you’re tired, please don’t feel like you have to wait up for me." He bent down to kiss her again, delighting in the way her sitting on the bed while he stood made their height difference almost the same as it was before. "I love you."

He shut the bathroom door behind him with a sigh and turned on the faucet. As the water filled the tub, Steve dropped the blanket and finally looked at himself in the full length mirror. He wasn’t sure just how he had made it being as thin as he was. Dark bruises were blooming over the pale skin of his pelvis, and his sex-flush had not faded from his chest. He traced over his ribs and bones visible under his skin.

After awhile, he simply had to look away before becoming anymore upset. He carefully got into the bath and just sat, thinking about the day and his body and Pippa until the water had turned completely cold.


	6. Chapter 6

Pippa rolled on her back and stared at the ceiling, her eyes tearing up slightly. She felt like she hadn’t done the right thing; she had wanted to make him feel like there was no difference, yet she knew it wasn’t true. He was the one she loved so dearly, she wanted to move in with him and couldn’t see her life without him, but he wasn’t the man she had grown to know for the last four months. How much time would it take for her to get used to it? Would they ever be able to turn him back to a healthier version of himself?

Just thinking about it made her feel guilty, she didn’t want Steve to think she preferred him tall and strong, but it was hard to forget how heavy her own body felt tonight next to his. With a sigh she placed her arm on her closed eyes and tried to fall asleep, haunted by pictures of her lover in pain and the way he had thought she would leave him.

He quietly emerged from the bathroom to find her asleep on the bed. It hurt to think of all the turmoil he had put her through since they had started seeing each other. It then hit him-- he was still who he was, even if he was different. Pippa had believed in him, still believed in him he hoped.

Steve picked up a sketchpad and pencil and sitting under the light of the full moon shining through the window, he started on his plan. Steve was great at strategy and plans of attack, that wasn’t something from the serum. He was going to figure out a way to make this right.

During the night, Pippa rolled over again and again, her sleep disturbed by nightmares but every time she almost woke up Steve was so thin and light she couldn’t feel him in bed. And she didn’t want to try to find his tiny frame on the too large mattress in fear of hurting him if she slept too close.

Too excited and focused, he had never made it to bed that night. When the sun started to rise, he got dressed (it took about three times as long), adjusted his sling, and quietly made his way out of the apartment. Within fifteen minutes, he was back with salmon bagels, fruit cups, and the fancy coffee he knew she liked. Not having a proper tray, he arranged the plate of food on a lipped cookie sheet. He added the single red rose he had picked up, and then carefully carried the tray over to the bed with his good arm. 

Placing it down where he would have slept, he gently squeezed her shoulder and softly called her name to rouse her. When her eyes opened and recognized him, he kissed her nose and smiled.

"Is it a good morning, Sweetheart? I have breakfast ready for you— your favorite."

She instantly smiled at the cute face observing her, the large blue eyes with too long eyelashes that made her heart beat faster.

"It’s always a good morning when you’re here, sweet prince," she purred as she stretched. She looked at Steve then let out a lazy but excited squeal when she saw the improvised tray. "My favorite!" Pippa pulled Steve to her by the waist and helped him onto her lap before resting her cheek on his chest.

"How do you feel today? Did you sleep well? I didn’t dare to snuggle, it will be better once your arm is fixed. Did you have plans for today?"

"Well, my arm is feeling better already… or these pain pills are really much better than what we could get in the 30s. Tonight maybe we can make up for what we missed last night?" he asked with a devilish grin. "I have some plans, but they are flexible. Do you need to go into the office today?" He tore a piece of her bagel covered in salmon and cheese and brought it to her mouth.

"No, don’t worry I will work a bit from here, but they know when my man’s injured I’m not available…" she replied as she started to eat. She let Steve feed her for a while, stealing kisses between two bites and sharing the tasty breakfast with him, comforted by his presence she had unconsciously missed that night.

"You know what makes me happy today?" she sighed before placing her chin on his shoulder. "To know that by next week we won’t ask anymore which place we’re going to. It will be just to ours."

"Wherever I’m with you feels like home, and I’m really happy too that we’ll have a place where it’s official." He took the rose, broke the stem with his hand, and then tucked it behind her ear, the red contrasting sharply with the blue of her eyes. "So beautiful," he whispered and kissed her. He started to clean up the rest of the remains of their breakfast, taking it back to the kitchen.

“I think I’ll finish packing your stuff today, your clothes and your books so it’s done, what do you think?” she called to him.

"Yeah, I think we can get the rest packed up today. I mean, it’s not like I’ll be needing most of these clothes anyway." He responded coming back to her side. 

"No, you won’t!" Pippa replied teasingly. She got up, still naked, and walked toward the bathroom. "Only one outfit for the times you’ll go out and your birthday suit at home, darling!"

In no time she was showered and wearing one of the outrageously short dresses she only wore at home. She picked a couple of cardboard boxes and folded them to start packing the mountain of items on her bedside. She paused for a second when she saw her tiny Captain America figure. She quickly shoved it in a box not to upset Steve, and text Tony to ask for news.

Steve had started packing his sketchbooks into the smaller boxes by his shelves. Only having one available arm, the task seemed to take longer than it should. When he filled one, he taped it and then realized it was too heavy for him to move alone. He just stacked an empty box on top and kept adding books.

He was concentrating on fitting them in the best way when he heard something fall and Pippa gasp. He snapped his head to her, and saw she was at his nightstand.

"Is everything ok, Sweetheart?" he asked, but then his sleepy mind thought about his memento box he kept in his bottom drawer, filled with notes, photographs, and other ephemera she had given him and of course, the velvet ring box he had planned on giving her.


	7. Chapter 7

Pippa had lifted the box, the tissues, and handkerchiefs he kept in his drawer and moved them to the bed, accidentally dropping the small box to the floor. The lid opened and the contents scattered across the wood flooring, an avalanche of post-its, littles notes and pictures. Among them, a tiny velvet box hit the leg of the bed and opened, revealing a finely crafted diamond ring.

With a gasp, Pippa wondered what it was doing there, and her heart missed a beat when for a split second she wondered who would receive such ring from Steve. But she quickly realized how silly and illogical this idea could be, Steve was the most honest person she had ever met, at least he was towards her, and there was only one woman he had loved as much as he loved her.

Blushing, she fumbled with the box and tried to gather everything that had fallen. “I am so sorry,” she stammered. “I didn’t know you kept your mother’s ring, I really didn’t mean to… that was personal, sorry. It’s a beautiful memento you have here. I didn’t want to violate your privacy…” He knelt down beside her, helping to recover the movie stubs and photo booth snapshots that had scattered.

"Ah, I… I didn’t." His face was on fire, remembering the time he had to hock his mother’s simple silver band to pay for rent, food, and medicine the month he was laid up with pneumonia. "I didn’t keep her ring." He saw her brows knit and lips purse in confusion. He reached out to her hand still holding the ring box, his thin fingers curling around hers.

After they had been dating for a month, Steve couldn’t stop thinking back to their conversation on their first date about buying something that would make him happy- something big and expensive. He still couldn’t buy a present just for himself, but this was something he selfishly wanted. He had spent weeks looking for something that he thought she would like, something that would also not be too obtrusive at work, but most of all something as beautiful as she was.   
He found the Art Deco ring in an antiques shop in Brooklyn one day when she was away on a mission. He hadn’t told a soul that he had it, but a day didn’t pass when he didn’t imagine her wearing it—the thought that made him happy even at his lowest.

"I bought this for you, but for… when you… we… when…" Steve licked his lips. This certainly wasn’t going according to any plan he had worked out. "I didn’t want to pressure you. I was waiting for when…" he dropped his eyes down to their hands entwined around the box. "…when I thought you would say ‘yes.’"

"For… me?" Pippa barely noticed she had stopped breathing for a while. She looked at their fingers, at Steve, as if she was a spectator of her own life. In a few seconds she replayed in her head their whole story, the blog, his asking her out, the first date, their confessions and gentle embraces. The missions, the laughs, the cries, the awkward moments and the best times in her life. The way they worked together, how everybody knew, their friends and colleagues, the stolen kisses in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s elevator.

She didn’t want to marry him. 

Not yet, it was silly. It had only been four months, she couldn’t want to marry him. She wanted to wait, to do things by the book, there was no need to rush after all. Okay they might have become a serious couple really quickly, and they were already moving in together but that didn’t mean she wanted to wear a ring and be legally bound to him forever. She was a careful girl, as always.

On the other hand, she didn’t want to leave him either. 

She preferred to put her fingers in her ears and pretend that things were good this way, and not feel pressured into a more serious relationship. She absolutely didn’t want to be without him, she had never been so happy in her life, never before had she felt so good and healthy, and had someone wonderful to share this feeling with. Not only did she feel great, but she wasn’t alone to enjoy these moments, and that was what made her relationship with Steve so special. He was the only one to ever get her a ring and ask her to share his life, something she had never thought would happen to her. She didn’t really want to marry him, but…

Losing her train of thought, Pippa suddenly realized he hadn’t asked anything. She was thinking about everything, but he hadn’t proposed her. He had just said he wanted to wait for the right time, nothing more. Right here, right now, wasn’t a proposal and the emptiness this realization left in Pippa’s heart made her understand how much she wanted it.

She _did_ want to marry him. 

She really wanted to be his wife, she wanted the routine and the engagement, she wanted the ceremony and the unbearable paperwork, the dress, the flowers and Steve Rogers in her life. Forever. But she couldn’t have it because he hadn’t asked. She couldn’t say yes, not yet, even if she realized how much she wanted to. So she licked her bottom lip and brushed her fingertips on the diamond.

"It’s… it’s beautiful, Darling."

He smiled but still hadn’t looked up at her, nervous at her reaction to the box and the ring.

"I am glad you like it; I was worried it might be too old fashioned; it’s from the 30s, too. But please don’t feel like this has to change things. I’ve had it for months now, I can wait for the right moment when it comes along."

He tried taking the box back, but her fingers tightened just a bit. Wide eyed, he looked up at her, trying to read her expression, the sad smile she made when she thought no one was watching. 

“Or is the right moment now? “

"I —I… I…" Pippa’s eyes widened and she turned crimson red. _Stop bleating like a goat, you dummy, he’s doing exactly what you want him to do!_ “I… I just… Do you mind if… we… wait, for the ceremony I mean, until I have my documents corrected? B—because I don’t want to have to use my birth name on the most beautiful day of my life, that would just ruin it and...” She realized she was rambling and ruining the most romantic moment of her life with her thoughts. She bit her lower lip, tears in her eyes. “In the meantime I would really love to be your fiancée, that is… if you…”

"Then let’s do this right.” He smiled and removed the sling from his hurt arm. Holding the ring in one hand and in the other, Pippa’s hand, he scooted closer to her.

"Pippa, would you do me the honor of one day becoming my wife? I offer this ring as a token of my undying devotion and as a promise to love and take care of you until my last breath." He looked up at her through his lashes, still slightly unsure she would answer in the affirmative. 

Pippa leaned in with a touched smile and framed Steve’s face with her hands. She was crying now but didn’t realize it. After kissing him tenderly to buy some time, she finally gathered her courage and replied, "Yes, Steve, I will be your wife. The honor would be mine to have you as a husband." 

She spread her palm flat, stretching her fingers apart so he could slip the ring on. Deep inside a little voice kept repeating she might be making a huge mistake, but that little voice had been wrong when she had joined S.H.I.E.L.D., when she had started her transition, when she had accepted a date with Steve. Screw the little voice.

"I love you… love you so much…" she panted, wiping her eyes.

"I love you, too." Steve’s cheeks were starting to hurt he was smiling so big. He slipped the ring onto her finger, and admired how the diamond seemed brighter on her hand. He then reached into the open nightstand drawer for one of his handkerchiefs, dabbing at her cheeks.

"I have to be honest, this is not how I thought today was going to go at all, but I’m so glad—" he was interrupted by the loud ding of Pippa’s phone, signaling a text message.


	8. Chapter 8

Pippa chuckled as she reached for her phone with her left hand to admire the ring. "You’ll have to tell me what you had in mind." She maneuvered so that they both could watch the video message from Tony, but it was Bruce-- a really tired version of Bruce-- that appeared on the screen.

" _Hello agent Coulson —"_

 _“And Steve, she’s probably with her little shrimp cocktail. You heard her yesterday, he’s stuck with her!”_ Tony’s voice interrupted him from somewhere off screen. Bruce rolled his eyes.

_“We have good and bad news, I’m sorry to tell you we haven’t found a solution yet. We analyzed Steve’s blood, and if we’re right, it appears that the serum in his body is blocked by--”_

_"By what we, experts, call ‘nanites’ ever heard of it? They’re like tiny robots that work on a microscopic scale."_ Tony smiled as he appeared in front of the screen, looking like a actual mad scientist. _"And this is good news because it means that your favorite genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist is precisely the one who can save your star spangled ass."_ Placing a hand on Bruce’s shoulder he added, _"Well, Brucie’ll take care of the biological aspects of the problem of course."_ Bruce sighed softly.

_“We’re trying to find a way to deactivate, or even better, destroy nanites from biological tissue and hope that it would be enough to let the serum in Steve’s body be active again, but for the moment the test results are not… convincing.”_

_"Not convincing at all!"_ Tony added, showing them what looked like an overcooked plate of minced meat. _"But we’re gonna find a way, agent! Geniuses out!"_

The screen went dark and Pippa bit her lower lip, haunted by the vision of burned flesh tissue she wished she hadn’t shown to Steve.

Steve hung his head and his shoulders started shaking. He felt Pippa’s touch, and he looked up, belting a laugh as a single tear rolling down his face. He kissed her hand.

"I just have robots in my body! I thought it was going to be something really bad." It felt a little better to have an idea of what Hydra had done to him; he had faith in his friends and their resolve. Pippa didn’t look so convinced.

"I have no doubt Tony will figure out how to fix it. He’s so good with those kinds of things. And you know how competitive he is, I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to reprogram them to make me even better than how his father made me. Maybe he will get me to grow a third arm…” he joked, trying to get her to smile.

But Pippa just frowned, still holding Steve who had never seemed so fragile, so frail in her arms.

"No, Steve," she sighed. "I know it may sound relatively normal compared to what you’ve been through already but nanotechs aren’t common, it’s a new kind of technology we don’t control yet… it’s still science-fiction! This is why we went down to Argentina in the first place. If the only thing Hydra did to you was to inhibit the serum, then we’ll be incredibly lucky. What if Hydra can control the nanites from their headquarters? What if they could do anything to you, control or kill you?

"Pippa…" Steve’s voice was quieter now, his desperate smile still on his face as another tear rolled down. "Please, pretend with me, just for today…" his voice cracked with the emotion and exhaustion that had finally found him, and he held her, his small arms around her neck.

"Please let me be in denial that you didn’t agree to marry me just before I found out my archenemy has the potential to… to take away what little they have left me with already." He sighed, knowing that as usual, it was all in the timing. If they had just been a few minutes off, he wouldn’t have asked. He couldn’t bare the thought of Pippa being a widow, or worse, a grieving fiancee, never getting their day together after the hope of it was planted. "So… let’s just keep packing."

She kissed his lips and smiled, trying to look more confident and hide her guilt for sharing her concerns. "Hey… you know what I did the last time your archenemy tried to take you down, huh? You know I’ll never let them hurt my man." She rubbed her nose against his.

"If we roll up our sleeves, we can finish packing and surely move in tomorrow… I’ll get Barton and Romanov to help us, and I think Thor is on Earth to hang out with Jane. We could take a few days to settle in so that we can go back to work as soon as you’re feeling better, perhaps celebrate our new place and our engagement with a good restaurant in a few days. What do you say, my Captain?"

"That sounds good. Do you… do you think they’ll still respect me, seeing me like this?" As he asked, the realization dawned on him. "Oh, they already saw me, didn’t they? Yesterday?" He figured S.H.I.E.L.D. mostly likely put out a call to the demi-god when Steve was compromised.

Pippa caught him in her arms and nuzzled his neck before kissing his mouth. “Hey, you’ll be fine! This has never been about your strength, Steve,you know that. Or would have been the Hulk as our leader.”

He laughed and then sighed, "I want so badly to be in the new apartment, with you." He kissed her once more than got back up, placing his memento box carefully in the packing box and returned to stack of books.

She squeezed his shoulder one last time and changed into a pair of jeans and a small tank top. They had stuff to do, it was going to get physical.


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning, after a short night spent worrying and packing, when Steve’s anxiety hadn’t calmed down, the lovers were ready to move most of his things. Pippa had done all the parts that required strength, and even if she knew how frustrated Steve was, she was glad when the team joined them at her place to help them a bit.

As soon as they were gathered in the messy living room, Pippa saw Natasha give a quick glance at her hand. The spy raised an eyebrow, blinked in surprise, and elbowed Clint to prevent him from saying anything stupid. Thor, however, couldn’t hide his sincere enthusiasm and took Pippa’s hand with a grin, observing her ring as if he hadn’t seen more impressive treasures on Asgard.

"Daughter of Coul, I see the good Captain has finally made his move! I am delighted to see you both have found your one true love, it is an honor to know such brave groom and bride!" Pippa blushed and nodded with a small smile, happy to have their good friend’s blessing.

Thor then bounded to Steve and swept him into a bear hug, dangling the smaller man at least a foot off the ground like a rag doll. "I am so happy for you, Shield Brother! When is the ceremony? Shall we stand with you at the altar? And what of the feast? You are having roasted boar and swan, correct? It is only the most fitting when two warriors couple. Lady Jane will be most pleased to hear of this!—"

"Thor," Steve managed to squeak out as the other was crushing him. "Thor… put me down… I can’t breathe…."

"Oh, sorry, Steven; I had forgotten of your shape-shift." Once his feet touched the ground again, he doubled over with his hand on his knees to support himself. His breathing evened out and facing everyone’s worried faces, he tried for his best Captain America smile to assure them.

"Thank you, everyone. Yes, Pippa and I are engaged to be married, and I’m sure you will all be there when it happens, but first things first, we have an apartment to move." With that, he started calling out orders just like he did when they were in battle. It felt natural and comforting, he could see what tasks to give to each person, how it would work to make the job go smoothly.

He saw Pippa and Natasha in the kitchen talking low, and decided to go with Thor and Clint moving the couch all the way down to the truck.

"So, someone has put on a leash on our Coulson?" Natasha teased with a smirk. Pippa rolled her eyes and showed her the washing machine they were going to carry. 

“You think I’m making a big mistake, right?” Expressing her own fears as she shrugged. 

"I think marriage and romance are dangerous. I don’t dream of being anyone’s princess anymore," the spy admitted as she got behind the machine. "I’m just like you Pippa, bound to my job. But, when I’m your age, I’ll probably be more reasonable. Maybe take another chance on marriage."

"What about my age?" Pippa replied, pretending to be shocked. "I shouldn’t have asked advice from such a young lady!"

Natasha let out a soft laugh, shaking her head. “He proposed while being so small? He’s got guts.”

"He does." Pippa paused for a second as she looked at the boys in the street. "Do you think no one from the office ever flirted with me because I was too unattractive or was I too cold? Be honest with me."

"I think you’re an excellent agent, Pippa. But you sometimes failed to see when people were flirting with you." Pippa gave Natasha a curious look and the spy just winked. “I know what I saw!”

"Well, I have nothing to regret, I couldn’t have found better," Pippa grinned as she lifted one end of the washing machine with a grunt. 

They loaded the truck fairly fast since Thor could carry so much at once. Seeing the blond do so much made Steve feel guilty when all he could manage was some cushions and the smaller boxes. He was grateful at least that the two of them had moved Pippa’s apartment before South America. 

S.H.I.E.L.D. would come in and do a sweep of the apartment later, removing all traces of Steve and the extra security and monitoring features they had installed before placing him there. It was getting dark as the group brought the last of the items into the new apartment, and Clint was starting to get testy.

"Steve, whydja have to have so many books? Books are heavy as fuck. I don’t have these many books."

"But you do not read, Clint," Thor pointed out.

"I read! I just use an eReader like a normal person.’

"I think someone needs to be fed," Steve suggested.

"He’s pretty fussy, may need to be changed, too," Natasha countered and shot the archer a cruel look.

"Nat, I swear—"

"Ok, okay." Steve put his arm on his friend’s chest and guided him to the door. "Clint and I will go pick up food for everyone and some drinks. My treat, as a thank you."

"You mean we aren’t getting paid?!" Clint asked as they made their way to the door. Steve rolled his eyes and reached up to kiss Pippa goodbye, but suddenly became self conscious in front of the group, embarrassed to be so short. Trying to be smooth, he just continued up and whispered into her ear instead. "I love you."

Pippa’s shoulders were sore from all the lifting and moving furniture but she leaned towards him and kissed him on the mouth. “Love you, too.” Everyone “daww’ed” at their exchange, with Clint adding an eye-roll before pulling Steve out the door. 

Pippa used Steve and Clint’s short absence to install the first appliances with Thor while Natasha prepared the mattress, then pulled their couch and a few chairs around the table. Pippa placed her most classified stuff in the safe she had had installed by S.H.I.E.L.D. and hung a framed painting of a beach in Tahiti to hide it. 

The apartment wasn’t comfortable yet but good enough for tonight, and soon Steve and Clint were back with the food and a pharmacy bag. 

“I needed some new bandages,” he explained sheepishly as the whole team gathered around the pizza boxes.

"All these cheeses, they please me!" Thor announced as he rolled an entire pizza to eat it like a burrito. Pippa sat next to Steve while Clint told them about that dog he knew who ate pizza, but soon the archer couldn’t hold his tongue anymore.

"So when’s the big day? Tell me you won’t have a too strict dress code!"

'We were thinking maybe this upcoming spring. We met in spring, started dating in spring. Seems like a good idea to get married in spring.” He looked over at Pippa and smiled. “We haven't talked any specifics, yet; but if Pippa wants you in tails and a top hat, you're gonna be wearing tails and a top hat.” Clint shot him a pleading look, but it only fueled Steve on. "Complete with a monocle!" The whole group busted out laughing, the image too ridiculous to do anything else. 

Steve ate his salad slowly, trying not to finish before everybody else, but he felt extremely hungry for some reason and wistfully stared at the pizza he knew he shouldn’t have. When everyone had finished, Steve and Clint exchanged a look and then the archer was ushering the other two Avengers out the door with him. As Pippa closed the door behind them, he saw her yawn, and figured if he was going to act, he better do it now.


	10. Chapter 10

"I’m going to go change my bandages; you stay here." He grabbed the pharmacy bag he had brought back with the food off the counter and kept a straight face until getting in the bathroom. Quickly he went to work, finding the box he had specially made at the old apartment and unpacked the candles, bubble bath, music player, and towels. 

From the decoy pharmacy bag, he took out the flowers, fancy gourmet cronuts, and a split of champagne he had procured. As the water was filling the over sized tub, he figured he would go ahead and change his bandage and brush his teeth so that when Pippa was done, they could just go straight to bed.

As he took off the sling and unwound the bandages, he was dumbstruck when he saw that his injury was now mostly healed, only a light pink scar remained. Steve slowly moved his arm, testing for any problems and trying to remember just how long it normally took for people to heal after such an injury.

Then in the mirror, he saw the bubbles threaten to go over the side of the bath and he rushed to turn off the water. He hid the rest of the boxes away in the linen closet (not so difficult now that he could use both arms) so the room didn’t look so “we just moved in,” started the playlist he had created when he stayed up the night before, and then called to her.

"Pippa, could you come here for a moment, please? I need you…" When she opened the door, he grinned and stepped to the side, presenting the bubble bath he had prepared for her, complete with lit candles, roses, and dessert. "You’ve had a rough couple of days," he leaned in to kiss her cheek. "And I just thought… well, you deserved something relaxing."

If her first reaction was to think she didn’t deserve so much, that he had had worse times than she had, Pippa just smiled and kissed his lips to show gratitude for his hard work.

"Thank you sweetheart, this is exactly what I needed." She gladly removed her sweaty clothes then helped him out of his, taking her time. He had hesitated when she had started undressing him, he hadn’t planned on intruding what he had thought of as her alone time. More than that he had successfully up to that point avoided letting her see how bruised his body was from the other day. However, as his jeans and boxers fell to the floor, he saw that his skin was no longer a purple-blue.

“So, who did you have sex with to get these donuts? I’ve heard even Stark couldn’t buy the bakery, and he tried…”

"A magician never reveals his secrets. Besides, if I can’t get you fancy donuts, what good am I?" Steve joked. Pippa sat in the tub with a loud happy sigh, trying to find her place in this brand new apartment. Even if Steve had been in his super soldier shape they would have both fit in the tub. She helped him to join her and served the champagne, cheering with her ring hand.

"To you and me," she smiled when the glasses clinked. "To us, our beautiful life, and the promise of so much more to come." She let Steve kiss her gently, loving the way his small hands ran into her hair, and rubbed her nose on his cheek.

As they toasted, the bubbles tickled his nose but he didn’t feel anything from it like he remembered he had the time Bucky had nicked a bottle of cheap stuff from a waiting job he worked on New Year’s Eve 1938.

"You know what I would really, really love right now? More than anything?"

"Right now? More than anything? I’m not sure what you want, but I know what you deserve— a nice back rub." He kissed at her neck while he moved to sit on her lap, his hands moved and gently kneaded across her shoulders.

"Ohhh you’re impossible," Pippa moaned. "it’s not what I wanted… hmm, I give you five minutes but then you let me do what I want. Stop being so bossy Captain, oh my Captain!" Unable to resist his small but talented hands, she relaxed her shoulders and gently massaged his narrow hips in return until he was uncomfortably squirming on top of her. “Steve, if you really, really wanna please your future wife tonight…” She lifted him, splashing water everywhere and sat him on the edge of the tub. “… just obey. You gave orders all day, now you take them. Relax.”

As she settled between his pale legs she could see his interest rising. “And I don’t want you to protest; this bath is for me, and my pleasure is to please you,” she announced as she kissed his chest, her nipples brushing his erection. “Don’t pout, and don’t make me handcuff you…”

One of his eyebrows shot up, his mind going over the possibilities. But before he could say anything, she took a sip of champagne and wrapped her lips around him and he was melting into the effervescent warmth of her mouth. She made an effort to only touch carefully, desperate for him to have pleasure without passing out. His hand instinctively went to the back of her hair, not pulling or pressing, but just resting there.

"I can be a good soldier when I need to be, when I have such a beautiful, capable commanding officer giving me aaahh—.” His body shivered and he slightly giggled as her attention was starting to tickle; his skin felt prickly and more sensitive than it had been the day before. “—attention.”

When he saw her left hand come up on his thigh, he remembered this was the first time they had done anything intimate since becoming engaged. He wanted desperately to kiss her, but he was trying to be good and relax into it. Instead, he covered her hand with his and squeezed as moaned with each swipe of her tongue.

Pippa entwined their fingers and smiled when she felt him caress her ring. All of his sighs and moans made her happier, even if she was hyper aware of his breathing and his pulse she could feel inside his wrist. As his pants got louder, Pippa slowed down. She let go of his cock, kissed his stomach, his chest, moving up to meet his lips. 

“I love you, and I’m almost sorry-- almost-- that your fiancé is so naughty…” She waited for Steve to calm down then held his still hard member against her breasts, too small to be really comfortable but she hoped she could try something new.

"If you could see what I see," she smiled as she rubbed him against her curves. "You would know how much I love you, Steve. You’re the only thing I need."

Whenever he would get close, she would back off and slow down; it was a delicious torture that was making him lose a little bit of his mind each time. Now her skin was soft, and wet, and slick from the soap bubbles and it felt incredible the way she was handling him.

"I’m glad you’re so naughty." Being out of the water had been cold, but now he was hot and sweating, and slightly rocking his hips forward, unable to have any leverage in his position.

"I love you, Pippa. Oh God how I love you, and your beautiful breasts. I—I didn’t know it would feel so good to do this.” This time he noticed his panting, but his lungs weren’t burning. Everything felt fine— felt great actually. "P-p-please don’t stop. I’m so close."

His focused expression as he came made Pippa feel so good, so happy to be able to make him lose his mind. She smiled as she murmured soft encouragements and praises, loving how even at the most intense moments he gently held her neck and rubbed her shoulder.

"Oh come here you," she sighed happily as he slid back in the tub, straight into her arms. "You know you’re my favorite treat, right?" She jealously kept him in her arms, kissed his temple, his neck, his shoulder, feeling like a mother cat smothering her kitten. When he moved his hand towards her, she pushed it away and shook her head.

"No, not today… it’s okay." She then added, certain that he would insist, "Hey you don’t want me to reciprocate the romantic bath, right? Because you did it for me? Well I did something for you and I don’t want you to reciprocate now."

She kissed him again, and he had to swallow his protests as she sucked on his bottom lip. He felt selfish that she wouldn’t let him do anything for her. Maybe she hadn’t really enjoyed the previous time and this was just a polite way of avoiding that frustration.

But he melted as she continued to kiss and hold him, and it seemed to make her happy and Steve was glad to be able to please her like that at least. Even with his guilt he could admit that he really liked it too, loved it when he could be as clingy as he wanted after.

As the water was finally starting to cool, they got out and for ready for bed. Their frame hadn’t been put together yet but the sheets and blankets were on the mattress, and they snuggled close to each other.

“I love you, Pippa,” he whispered. He was curled into her, clinging to her like he was going to lose her.

"I love you so much. You’re almost as tasty as those fancy donuts!" Pippa chuckled as she finally dared to wrap her arms around him. He seemed a little bit more solid and she wondered if he faked it, or if he was getting used to his original body again.


	11. Chapter 11

In the morning, after beating about the bush during the whole breakfast, Pippa chewed on her bottom lip and made her suggestion, knowing that Steve wouldn’t like the idea.

"I know that you really don’t mind hand washing your clothes every two days, but as much as I’m sure Bruce and Tony will find something to help you, we don’t know for how long you’ll remain like this, and you might need to get a few more clothes, just in case. So, are you gonna accept a short shopping spree, or will I have to grab you by the scruff of your neck and force you into the stores?" Steve sighed and put down the box he had been unpacking in the kitchen. 

"Well, I’ll go peacefully on one condition— you let me buy something for you, too." He winked and then grabbed the only pair of shoes he had that would fit his smaller feet.

It took them three shops before they found one that had clothes that would actually fit and not seem to swallow him up in fabric. Pippa sent him off with a stack of skinny jeans and shirts to try on as she continued to browse the displays. Before he got to the changing room, he overheard a man a few rows over talking with his friend.

"Aiden, look at that, who does he think he’s foolin’?" Steve slumped a little, ready to hear the punch line about someone as small and weak he was shouldn’t be walking with so much pride. 

"Let’s get a photo and post it on the Tranny Fail blog*." Steve threw down the clothes when he realized they weren’t looking at him, but pointing the phone at Pippa.

"Hey!" Steve covered the lens just as the photo snapped. "Didn’t anyone ever teach you it is rude to take someone’s photograph without permission?"

"Fuck off, pal." The guy shoved Steve back and tried to set up the shot again.

"I’m not your pal." Steve grabbed the phone out of the man’s hands, cold anger in his eyes.

"Give that back!"

"Children who can’t play nice don’t deserve nice toys. Will you be good boys?"

"Who are you, the phone police? Give it back."

"Make me." Steve marched out of the shop door to the side alley. The two bullies following after the phone still in his hands.

Pippa turned around when she heard the angry voices just in time to see the surreal scene: Steve walking out the shop followed by two men who could easily eat him for breakfast.

"What the…" She looked around, puzzled, until a saleswoman nodded towards the door, looking at her.

"Those men were insulting you, miss, and your boyfriend got pissed." The young woman let out a dreamy sigh. "Ah, yours is so brave! My guy wouldn’t have done that!"

Pippa shook her head, placed the basket of clothes she had picked in the saleswoman’s hands and ran to the side alley. She had seen things in her life that would have scared civilians, she had seen literal miracles and extraordinary violence, but when she saw the guy’s fist crashing on her little Steve’s temple she couldn’t contain a yelp, covering her mouth with her hands.

It was an odd sense of deja vu with the first blow. After 75 years, Steve Rogers was still stubbornly standing up to jerks who couldn’t just be respectful. At least now he had hours of training and sparring practice to give him an edge in a street fight, but he also still had the body of a prepubescent boy.

The first blow rattled him a bit, but also gave him a sense of the punk’s fighting style, his strength, his vulnerabilities. Steve heard Natasha’s voice describing the different throws and techniques when she had taught him Aikido and Juijitsu. He knew what to do.

With his next swing, Steve moved and then rolled the guy’s arm around, using his own momentum to flip him over Steve’s hip. The man landed on his back against the hard concrete. Even if his strength couldn’t be what it had been, Steve felt quick and agile. His body would twist and move just how he wanted it, and he certainly didn’t remember it being like that growing up.

He looked up from the moaning man on the ground to see Pippa at the front of the alley. He tried to give a reassuring smile, but then the other man, Aiden, punched him hard in the ribs from behind. The air was knocked out of him and he struggled to take a breath, stumbling to the brick wall to support himself. Aiden then came up behind Steve and punched the same spot again.

The smaller man tried to trick himself into thinking it was just like he was underwater. He could hold his breath for a long time, it was ok, just do what needed to be done. He used all of the anger he had about his body, about Hydra, about how others treated the woman he loved; all of his frustrations about the move, about his job, about not being who he wanted to be for Pippa, about the way everyone looked at him now— three day’s worth of rage concentrated as he stomped back on the man’s foot, then used an elbow strike to his gut. The man doubled over and pulled away.

Steve managed a shallow breath and whirled around but saw that Aiden wasn’t rallying for more but instead was helping his friend up, having grabbed the phone from where Steve had set it down, and running away. Skinny, sickly Steve Rogers had actually won a fight. If only Bucky could see him now, he’d… he’d…

He’d point out to Steve that they weren’t running from him, they were running from a very angry looking Pippa Coulson who was charging at them from the opposite direction. He leaned back against the wall, now breathing heavily and feeling the sharp pain in his ribs starting to radiate out. His skin suddenly felt so tight he wanted to scream.

When she had caught up with him, he had collapsed down to the ground and tried to play it casual although he felt the warm blood running down his face where the punch had broken the skin.

"So, did you find any khakis in my size, Sweetheart?” He asked, and then winced as the pain intensified, trying hard not to cry out but failing. Steve’s joke didn’t make her laugh, and she crouched next to him, wiping his sweaty and bloody face with his handkerchief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Please don't tell me this is a thing. I really really don't want it to be a thing; I want this just to be something I made up. I can't tell you how much I despise the websites and blogs that run off of making fun of others (for how they look, their drawings, their writing, their cakes, etc.). So if this is a thing, please don't tell me or I'm going to be sad about humanity for awhile. -nausicaa82


	12. Chapter 12

"Have you decided to get killed this week or what?" she groused before she took her phone. "Coulson here, track my position, I need a vehicle and a medical team for Steve!" She looked at the way Steve was leaning against the wall and added, “Yes, at least two broken ribs, probable internal damages, possible concussion. Get here, quick!”

As soon as she hung up though, she couldn’t help tenderly brushing Steve’s hair. “Hey, you’re such an idiot, but I’m so proud of you, too. That was amazing, but not a reason to do it again.”

“I couldn’t let them talk that way about you,” he wheezed. "Hey, at least they didn’t bust up my face too badly. It’s how I makes my money and keeps my girl." When Pippa still didn’t laugh at his lines, he tried to think of funnier ones, but then other people were around barking instructions and putting monitors on him, and things were feeling fuzzy, like he needed to sleep.

She didn’t let go of him in the SUV that took them to HQ and kept holding him as he growled and moaned in pain, examined by a doctor. As if the moment wasn’t intense enough, she soon got a call from Bruce.

" _Coulson? Could you guys please come to S.H.I.E.L.D.? Something’s going on with the samples and we can’t figure what, we’d like to…_ "

"We’re on our way!" Pippa cut as she noticed a young agent looking at her like she was dressed as a clown. She realized it would be the first time S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel would see her in civilian clothes, perhaps an even more unusual view than Steve Rogers beaten. 

In the room as one of the doctors was touching his back and asking Steve to take deep breaths, he felt something move and the man jumped back.

"H-h-his rib moved back into place." Steve smiled as he took another breath with much less pain in his chest. Just then he heard Tony and Bruce talking fast and on top of each other to the medical personnel.

"It could start at any moment."

"We don’t know for sure what it’ll do, Tony."

"Won’t it be wonderful to find out?"

Steve squeezed Pippa’s hand hard as a new wave of pain washed over him. Pippa could barely refrain herself from punching the billionaire in the face to stop his childish excitement. Steve was hurting, this was no time for childish fun. He wailed loudly again and everybody in the room stopped and looked at him. He could barely talk.

"My… legs hurt. Like they..are..being pull..ed… apart." Tony moved his shirt sleeve up to see how all evidence of his bullet and dart wounds was completely gone.

"Bruce! It’s already happening! Look."

"EVERYBODY OUT!" Bruce roared, and all of the nurses and doctors hesitated for a split second before a green glint in his eye convinced them to go. Tony quickly was attaching mechanical cuffs to Steve’s wrists and ankles.

"Hey Cap, this may feel awfully familiar. I tried my best to improve on my dear old dad’s design, at least you aren’t in a clunky metal sarcophagus.” The genius softly patted soldier's face with a playful smile that flashed into a worried look after a second.

Bruce held Pippa by the arm and leaned in to whisper, “There’s no time to explain everything, but Steve’s transitioning back. We think we can help speed it up with the vita rays like last time; you can stay, but this isn’t going to be pretty— it’s a really painful process, I know.”

She looked down and didn’t hesitate for a second. “Have the cameras turned off,” she ordered to the last orderly before leaning over Steve. “I’m here baby, you can do it. It will be over soon, I’m here, I won’t leave you.” She joined Tony and Bruce behind the closest desk to get minimal protection against the rays as Steve arched, roaring in pain.

Pippa shielded her eyes from the bright light, trying not to look away, she didn’t want him to go through all of this alone. She bit her lower lip hard when Steve started to grow again, bigger, taller, the room filled with the smell of burnt skin and terrifying cracking noises of his bones. When the Vita ray gauge indicated 100%, Tony counted one full minute before turning it off, certain that Steve had received enough radiation.

Pippa ran to her boyfriend and took his head in her hands; he was trembling and screaming so much she wasn’t even sure he would feel her, even recognize her, but she spoke in a clear voice to encourage him.

"I’m here, Steve… hold on!" Between her hands his jawl was changing, vibrating as it grew thicker. "M’here baby, you are not alone… I’m here… you’ll be okay." She kissed his sweaty forehead. "Your girl will always be with you, honey… always. You’re the toughest. You’re doing great!"

It felt like a mere second and an eternity both at once, and then it was done. Steve opened his eyes to the three of them standing over him: Tony removing the cuffs, Bruce taking his pulse, and Pippa wiping the sweat from his brow.

He sat up and looked down at his barrel chest and arms, his legs sticking out far beyond his pants’ hem. Nothing hurt anymore, and he pulled his girl in close to him, savoring the feeling of how petite she was again, how she just fit so perfectly in his embrace. He nuzzled and kissed at her neck, so happy to be his true self again. He was content to just stay there, but he heard Tony clear his throat behind him. Reluctantly he let go and turned as the two started explaining what had happened.

"You see, Hydra didn’t make the nanobots. We finally got through all the files Agent had purloined from the lab’s computer. They thought the had stolen the technology from Stark Industries, but I can assure you those goons would never be able to steal something from me."

"It also helps you weren’t working on this kind of technology," Bruce supplied.

"Well, not before, but we are now!"

"Wait, then who did they get it from?" Steve asked.

"Idiot extraordinaire— Justin Hammer." Tony hissed. "But like all things, his tech never really follows through. Looks impressive, but is all sizzle— no steak."

"When we were running tests on your samples, Steve, we saw the bots start to malfunction, then the serum ‘turn back on’ and dissolve the bots like a white blood cell to a bacteria."

"Then I figured—"

“ _We_ figured”

"Right, right, Bruce and I figured that if it was actually happening throughout your body, the serum would start fixing you again, and I looked through my father’s old notes about the vita-rays, and whipped something up."

"You just whipped up a vita-ray machine?"

"It took a couple of hours, and I didn’t really have time to run some tests first."

"I know how painful a slow transition can be, Steve." Bruce offered, "We weren’t sure how much time we had, there was a possibility your heart couldn’t take the stress of a transition again."

Steve worried at his lip, everything seemed fine now, but it was scary to think of how things could have gone bad with just a few things changed. He looked at Pippa, sorry to have again caused her so much anxiety and stress.

"But how do you feel now, Cap?" Tony asked.

Steve softly smiled not taking his eyes off of her beautiful face, and for the first time in his life admitted, “Really really hungry.”

"Thank you," Pippa finally sighed, relieved to know everything was back to normal. She shook Bruce and Tony’s hand with a grateful smile.

"Oh but, Agent, you were my one and only inspiration to find a solution," Tony said in a low voice, raising an eyebrow. Pippa frowned. Was he openly flirting with her? "Because I don’t even want to imagine what you would have done to the Hulk and me if we hadn’t saved your boyfriend."

Bruce cleared his throat behind his hand. “Fiancée,” he corrected softly. Tony’s eyes fell on Pippa’s hand and a grin spread on his face.

"What is that? I can’t believe it, Agent, you hadn’t told us yet!" Tony exclaimed. "I want to be in the ceremony. I could give Steve away! Let me get you something, can I organize the reception? OH! Steve, you’re on for one hell of a bachelor party, we’re gonna make a grown man outta you!"

"It’s okay, I already took care of that," Pippa replied with a cheeky grin. "Now, could you run all the tests you need so we can keep on settling in our new place? And reassure the rest of the team out there?"

She didn’t leave Steve’s arms while the scientists took his blood and after twenty minutes they could assure that Steve was in better health than ever. Only then Pippa realized it was over, she dared to cling to Steve and look him in the eyes, certain it wouldn’t happen again.

"It’s… so good to know you’re safe and healthy," she grinned. Just as she got up from her seat she stumbled, her head spinning. Now that all the tension from the last days was gone, she felt dizzy. She was much more sensitive when it was about Steve, on her usual cases she wasn’t as personally involved.

"Hey there!" Bruce called, catching her at the same time as Steve did. "Low blood pressure? Stay with us, Agent!"

"M’fine," Pippa mumbled, weak in the knees. "Just… happy it’s over."

As Steve changed into his training sweats, Bruce had Pippa rest. Then they leisurely walked back to their new apartment, picking up some carry out (a lot actually), and holding hands the entire way.

When they got back to their building, the elevator was out for maintenance and Steve had a mischievous look in his eyes. He put all of the bags of food in Pippa’s hands, then scooped her up in a bridal carry, and bounded up the stairs, taking two at a time but not jostling her too much.  
When they reached the door, she moved to get down, but he held on tighter.

"You know, it’s better if I carry you over the threshold. This way, there is no way you can trip and have bad luck." He juggled to get the keys out and unlock the door, and then gracefully carried her in, determined to be the best husband he could possibly be for her.

**Author's Note:**

> Due to travels, the next installment will not be posted until November. Sorry, but hope you enjoyed this one!


End file.
